Duncanville defensive end Colin Simmons is the nation’s top-ranked prospect in the 2024 class, so any time he steps foot on a college campus it’s a big deal. Last weekend it was the Texas Longhorns’ chance to put their best foot forward when Simmons made his way to Austin to meet with the UT staff and take in a Texas spring scrimmage.

“It was just building a better and stronger relationship with the coaching staff. I mainly talk to coach (Chris) Gilbert,” Simmons said. “Basically he just wants me to get down there as many times as I can before I even take my official visits to try to make it feel like home.”

This weekend, Simmons said he’ll likely hit Oklahoma for the Sooners’ spring game. With plenty of time in front of him before he has to make any sort of recruiting decisions, the ultra-talented edge defender said he hasn’t yet begun thinking about narrowing his focus.

“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about any of that. I keep getting reminded that I need to start thinking about what college I need to go to, but anything can change so I’m taking my time with that,” Simmons said.

At 6-3 and 215 pounds, Simmons is a versatile defender who’s able to quickly get upfield to apply pressure in the backfield, while being equally adept at running down plays to the boundary. The five-star product still feels like he has more to offer.

“I feel like I have great explosiveness. I get off the ball quick, fast. My first step is very explosive,” Simmons said. “I just feel like my pass-rushing game is unbelievable, but I feel like I’m not at the top of my pass rushing abilities. I still have more inside me that I’m fixing to let off this season.”

While it’s still very early in his recruitment, Simmons said there is a strong interest on his side in the Longhorns, and he expects Texas to hang around as he eventually works his way through his options.

“I feel like that’s a school that I’ll keep in the race. They’re recruiting me hard. That’s one of the schools that I’ve been looking up to,” Simmons said. “I’ve built a great relationship with coach Sark, and also the edge coach (Jeff Choate). Now what they want me to build a relationship with is the players there, even though they most likely won’t be there when I come. They want me to build a relationship with them, see how it is in Austin.”

Simmons said he’s undecided at this point on whether or not he’ll graduate in December of his senior year or stay through the spring semester. He’s going to play basketball as a junior but said as a senior he may change things up to take some additional classes and graduate early.